The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently issued its initial determination on violation of Section 337 and recommended determination on remedy and bonding in investigation 337-TA-740, “Certain Toner Cartridges and Components Thereof.” In a resounding win for Lexmark, Judge Carl C. Charneski has recommended that the commission issue a general exclusion order, barring the importation and sale within the United States of cartridges, regardless of manufacturer, that infringe the 15 Lexmark patents named in the complaint: U.S. patents 5,337,032, 5,634,169, 5,758,233, 5,768,661, 5,802,432, 5,875,378, 6,009,291, 6,078,771, 6,397,015, 6,459,876, 6,816,692, 6,871,031, 7,139,510, 7,233,760, and 7,305,204. (For a complete list of our coverage of this Lexmark ITC investigation, click on the 337-TA-740 tag below this article.)

The ITC has awarded Lexmark a GEO that will prevent the importation into the United States of many non-OEM monochrome toner cartridges for Lexmark printers. Image source: Photos.com.